Before The World Went Black
by SadisticSmartass91
Summary: Itachi gets hurt seriously because of his brothers carelessness, and now Sasuke has to take care of him. Brotherly love.
1. Prolouge

"You're driving too fast. Slow down!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth together, gripped the steering wheel harder and tried to ignore the person sitting beside him.

Why was it again that he agree to his uncles request to get his brother from the airport?

Oh, yeah. It wasn't a request but an order. He said that he should _'act like a grown up'_ and _'get over the fact that he hated his brother'_ and _'some time together would perhaps help t__hem make up'_.

There was one problem, though. His brother was a fucking nuisance.

_'Don't drive too fast; Turn down the music; That light was red; Look on the road; You're not allowed to pass by, W__atch out_, and so on and so on.

Sasuke already had a headache.

"Itachi, just shut the fuck up! This is my car and I'm driving it the way I want to! Be glad I even came to pick you up in the first place!"

Itachi sighed and looked out the window.

"Why do you always have to fight with me?"

Sasuke ignored his question. It wasn't his fault that they were fighting every time they met.

Why the hell did Itachi even decide to take a break from his studies right now and grace him and his uncle with one of his rare visits? They hadn't seen each other in over three years, but Sasuke had been fine with his brother studying in the states and thus being as far away from him as possible.

A car driver angrily honked at him as he again missed the light turning red.

Damnit, he should really take more care as to where he was driving instead of fuming over his damn brother.

Itachi quirked a delicate eyebrow at him.

"Let me guess, it's my fault again that you have been distracted and didn't see the red light."

Sasukes left eye faintly twitched and he gave his brother an icy glare, stopping him from making any more of his smart retorts.

"Say only one more fucking word and you and your bags are walking the rest of the way, got it."

Itachi shut his mouth and looked out of the window again, mumbling a quiet _'you're going to kill us booth'_ under his breath.

Sasuke let out an annoyed sigh.

Of course it was Itachis fault. If he wouldn't be here Sasuke wouldn't get sidetracked. He really should pay more attention to the road before him instead of his brother. He didn't want his car to get a scratch.

Ignoring Itachi he turned the music louder and stopped at a red light.

Suddenly the driver of the car besides him started playing with his gas pedal.

Sasuke smirked and also let his engine roar up, taking on the challenge. He had done this many times before and the streets were nearly empty. Perfect conditions for a small race.

"Sasuke!"

The warning voice from his right made him sigh in despair. Itachi had his eyes narrowed at the younger and was leaning dangerously close to him.

"Not while I'm driving with you."

This race would definitely piss his brother off to no end. One more good reason to do it.

"Then get out." Sasuke concentrated on the lights before him.

"What..." Itachi looked startled.

The lights turned green.

"Ooopps, too late."

Sasuke pressed his foot down on the gas pedal, speeding forward with skidding wheels beside the other car and making Itachi slam back into his seat and spill his coffee all over his trousers and shirt.

His smirk grew as he tried to pass by the other car, adrenalin cursing through his body. Yep, he had managed to piss his older brother off. That was definitely worth it, even if he should lose this race, which wouldn't happen.

"Relax big brother. A little bit of fun won't kill you. Just sit back and enjoy watching me win."

Sasuke glanced sideways towards Itachi and quietly chuckled as he saw how rigid his dear big brother was sitting on his seat.

He should take him to such races more often. Perhaps it would get the stick out of his brothers ass.

Looking back forward he tried to pass by his opponent again, inwardly cursing. That guy was good.

"_Sasuke stop!"_

The timid voice of his brother held an urgency and fear in it that he was unfamiliar with, but he ignored it and continued speeding forward.

"SASUKE STOP!"

He winced at the horror his brothers voice held and stomped on the break, but it was too late.

Itachi threw himself out of his seat grabbing the steering wheel in a feeble attempt to somehow turn the car out of harms way, but it was futile.

Sasuke was unable to move and could only watch in horror as his opponents car was hit full force by the oncoming train, just moments before his own car smashed into the still driving train.

His vision went white as a sharp pain exploded behind his forehead, but he could feel Itachis body shortly slamming into him only to be thrown away again the next moment by the sudden change in movement, feel the seat belt cut into his chest and abdomen and the airbag pressing him into his seat and hear the loud crashing and squeaking sounds as his car was being dragged along some more meters by the train before it finally stopped, followed by an eerie quiet.

Sasuke blinked several times to get his vision back and tried to move only to hiss out in pain. His head was throbbing and he closed his eyes again, stifling a groan and grabbing his forehead. He took notice that his forehead was bleeding, but otherwise he seemed unharmed, save the numerous bruises.

He unbuckled his seat belt and tried opening the door, but it wouldn't budge.

His car was halfway under the train. The right side of it having been hit full force. In fact, his car was nearly laying on its side. No wonder he couldn't open the door.

"Oh damn." Itachi would never let him live through this. He could already see his superior grin as he said _'I told you so__'_. God how he hated this sentence...

..._Itachi_...

Sasuke turned his still spinning head into the direction of his brother and paled at the sight.

Itachi was laying lifelessly in his seat, eyes closed. Blood was streaming down the right side of his face from a wound on his head. A small trail of blood was escaping his lips, running down his chin.

Itachis seat was pressed backwards into the backseats, slightly behind Sasukes, by a muddle of metal and plastic, which once seems to have been the side and roof of the car. Itachis downer half was caught between the muddle and his seat.

Sasuke hurriedly leaned over his seat and felt for his brothers pulse.

It was there. It was weak, but it was there. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Itachi" He gently shook his shoulders, not wanting to injure him any further, repeating his name over and over again and patting his cheek, but his brother wouldn't react. His breathing was slow and shallow.

There was smoke slowly filling the inside of the car and Sasuke began to feel slightly dizzy again. He needed to get himself and Itachi out of here.

Cursing he tried to unbuckle his brothers seatbelt but it wouldn't work. He tried harder.

_c__lick_

Finally the seat belt was open. Sasuke was now coughing, having a hard time breathing with all this thick smoke. _Damnit_, he needed to hurry. He grabbed Itachi around the waist, intending to pull him out of the muddle of metal and hell knows what. But Itachis lower half was stuck.

Sasuke desperately pushed and clawed at the metal, trying to somehow move it out of the way and free his brother, but it wouldn't budge.

He grabbed for Itachis hips and legs somewhere in the mess, intending to try and pull him out this way.

He was feeling around with his hands trying to get a good grip on his brothers body. Suddenly his right hand touched something wet and warm. He pulled it back to take a look.

Blood.

His hand was covered in his brothers blood.

Sasukes vision began swimming and he grabbed his head in his hands.

The smoke was getting too much. They would both suffocate.

He moved back to his door and smashed the window with his foot, cutting his leg. Now some of the smoke could get out and he too could get himself and Itachi out of the car.

Suddenly he fell into a violent coughing fit. His lungs burned and his eyes were stinging like hell. He could hardly see.

Crawling back to Itachi he intended to try and pull him out again, but a sudden weakness washing over him made him fall limply against his brothers chest. He didn't had the strength to move anymore.

Sasuke could hardly breath now, his eyes were slowly starting to close and he was slipping in and out of consciousness.

He could hear his brothers heart pound in his chest. He didn't hear the sirens and the people outside the car screaming.

Only Itachis heart beat. It was like a lullaby to him and he intensely listened.

_ba bum…ba bum…ba bum…ba..bum….ba…bum…..ba…..bum…ba…._

He just had time to realize that his brothers heart had stopped before the world went black.

* * *

><p>AN: This is the first of many ideas for new stories. What do you think, should I continue it? It's the only one that got a name and prolouge so far.<p> 


	2. Wake up

Sasuke slowly woke up, felling dizzy and with his head slightly throbbing he took in his surroundings. He was laying in a hospital bed, clad in a hospital gown and his head bandaged. So he came to the conclusion that he was indeed in a hospital, but he couldn't recall why.

Suddenly everything came crashing back on him and he shoot up from his laying position. He remembered picking Itachi up from the airport, Itachi annoying the hell out of him during the drive, then the race with the other car, Itachi screaming at him to stop and grabbing the steering wheel, the crash with the train, Itachis unconscious body, the smoke, himself trying to free Itachi from the car and then…..Itachis heart had stopped…

That would mean…Itachi…his brother…was…_dead_?

No, this couldn't be!

Sasuke jumped of the bed and nearly fell flat on his face, due to his weak legs. How long had he been unconscious anyway?

Stumbling a little he made it to the door and opened it, only to nearly run straight into one of the nurses. He pushed past her and walked down the corridor searching for his brothers name tag above one of the doors, but he couldn't find it anywhere.

He was frantic now. Itachi had to be somewhere around! Normally they were always keeping family members in the same corridor or room. He couldn't have killed him!

The nurse from before was now walking besides him, talking to him rapidly and trying to pull him back towards his room, but he ignored her.

"I will bring you to your brother."

Sasuke stopped and turned around. Behind him stood one of the medics with a clipboard in her hand. She had long blond hair, tied into two low ponytails and hazel brown eyes.

"I'm Tsunade, the leading medic on his case and I wanted to go there anyways, come on."

She shooed the protesting nurse away and walked into the direction he had come from.

Sasuke numbly followed her.

After going up a flight of stairs and into a corridor of the intensive care unit they stopped in front of a door.

'_Uchiha Itachi'_

His brothers name was written above the door.

"What are you waiting for? Go in." Tsunade gestured towards the door.

Sasuke slowly reached for the handle, but hesitated. His hand was shaking.

He took a deep breath and grabbed the handle. There was nothing to be afraid of. Itachi would be all right, he was sure of that.

Slowly he opened the door and stepped into the room, followed by Tsunade.

But as he got sight of Itachi he stopped short, afraid to go further and see the whole damage he had done.

Itachi was laying in the bed before him, stuck to various IV's and a life support machine. His head was bandaged, his eyes were closed and he was unbelievable pale. The rest of his boy was covered by a blanket and there was some dried blood on the right side of his face.

"It wasn't easy, but we managed to reanimate and stabilize him."

Tsunade had walked to the machine, checking on his brothers vital system and scribbling on her clipboard.

Sasuke slowly followed her and stood besides the bed. His brother was so ghostly pale. He looked more dead than alive.

Taking up all his courage he carefully touched his brothers hand which was peeking out under the blanket. It was slightly cold.

Sasuke pulled his hand back and let himself fall onto the chair besides the bed. His headache was getting worse and he felt the guilt eating at him. And he didn't like that feeling.

Tsunade held a glass of water in front of his face and he took it without looking up and gulped it down in one swipe.

"How bad is he?"

"You're sure you are ready to hear that?"

"Yes."

He would get to know it anyways. Better hear it now from the medic than later from his uncle. After all, it was his fault that Itachi was in this state and Madara wouldn't be very happy about it. Even if he and Itachi didn't really like each other, he was still his nephew.

Tsunade sighed.

"Ok, first of all he has been placed in an artificial coma. His pelvis has been fractured as has his right upper leg and he has several bruised and three broken rips. Due to a damaged vein in his right upper leg and one of his rips puncturing his lung he lost a great amount of blood and needed several blood transfusions. His heart stopped four times during the operation because of the blood loss and in the end we had to inject adrenalin into it to get it to beat again.

His head has been hit pretty hard and his brain has been damaged, but we can't exactly say how serious the damage is till he wakes up. Same goes for his injured spine. It got fractured in his lower back and his spinal cord is slightly damaged. It seems as if it could be healed, but we're not sure yet. First we need Itachi to wake up and check if he can feel and move his legs.

Besides from that he has some cuts and bruises and like you he suffered from a smoke poisoning."

Sasuke held his head in his hands, eyes closed and slowly taking in what Tsunade told him. Again a wave of guilt swept over him, but he pushed it back. He should have thought as much, after all, Itachi was laying in a room in the _intensive care unit_. That says everything.

"When will he wake up and what would be the worst that can happen, besides him not waking up or dying?"

"We planned to wake him from his coma in three weeks, but of course it could take longer for him to actually wake up. The worst that can happen is him being paraplegic and/or mentally retarded."

Sasukes body trembled. The guilt was overtaking him again. What had he done?

* * *

><p><em>biep.…biep.…bieb.…biep…<em>

Sasuke tried to ignore the sounds from the life support machine behind him, but it was so damn loud.

He was still sitting in the chair besides his brothers bed. It was already evening.

Tsunade had checked him through and deemed him fine enough to go home. She practically forced him to eat the rice some nurse brought him, saying that he needed something in his belly after being unconscious for nearly three days.

Now he was waiting for his uncle, which Tsunade had called, to bring him some clothes and pick him up.

Damn, what was he taking so long?

He was itching to get out of here and away from his brothers lifeless body.

He couldn't stand being near him anymore, he wasn't even able to look at him without feeling a pang of guilt. He hated this feeling. He was supposed to hate this man and not blame himself for hurting him.

Suddenly the door opened to reveal his uncle with a bag in his left hand. He looked even more tired than usually.

"Sasuke, it's good to see you awake."

"Yeah, whatever."

Sasuke wasn't in the mood for talking. He stood up and took the bag from his uncle and walked into the small bathroom to change.

As he came back out his uncle was sitting in the chair he had occupied before and looked at him with tired eyes.

"I assume you have already been informed about your brothers state of health."

Sasuke nodded and Madara sighed. He knew he would need to have a very long talk whit his youngest nephew and he wasn't looking forward to it.

Sasuke had not only endangered his own life, but also that of his older brother and even managed to nearly kill him with his carelessness. Not to talk about the passengers in the train and the man driving the other car, who was now drop dead.

He had told him often enough not to take part in street races. The police already knew about the race and they were suspecting Sasuke to have started it, which wouldn't end well for him if he really did. The dead man left two small children and a wife, which of course wanted compensation and was suing them for financial aid.

But he didn't want to bother Sasuke with all this now after he just woke up. They would talk later.

"Can you bring me home now uncle? There's nothing we could do staying here."

Madara nodded and stood up, following Sasuke out of the room and closing the door behind him.

After informing the receptionist of Sasukes leave, they got into his uncles truck and Madara drove out into the freeway.

"You must be hungry, should we stop somewhere and get you something to eat?"

"No, thank you, just drive me home."

"Ok, but at least eat a chocolate bar. You haven't eaten anything in days."

Sasuke nodded and took the chocolate bar from his uncles hand. The rest of the drive was held in silence. Back at his apartment he waved his uncle good-bye, telling him he didn't need anything.

Madara would come back in the morning to have a talk with him, that much he knew.

Sasuke lived alone since he was thirteen. His uncle only came by from time to time to look if everything was all right, but since Sasuke helped him with the paperwork they saw each other quite regularly.

The apartment had two bedrooms. One for himself and one for his brother, but seeing that he was as good as never in Konoha he started using it as a guest room for his friends and to store some things.

Sasuke sighed as he locked the door behind him. He felt exhausted.

Walking into his bedroom he didn't bothered to get out of his clothes and let himself fall into his king sized bed and pulled the blanket over his head.

Tomorrow morning he was going to have a long talk with his dear uncle and a lot of explaining later in school. Unfortunately he couldn't bother to pass any more classes, since he was in his last year.

But how could he just continue with his live not even knowing how his brothers live would be. The live that he destroyed, probably.

Sasuke groaned. '_No, bad thought__s__'_

Wallowing in self pity wouldn't bring him anywhere. Besides, he couldn't do anything right know without knowing how his brother would manage after waking up from the coma. If he would wake up, that is.

Soon enough he would know exactly how much damage he had done. Because in three weeks his brother was _supposed_ to wake up.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Thanks everyone for the reviews and I hope you like the first Chapter. I decided to continue this story, but I'm not quite satisfied with the first chapter. The next ones will be better.

And don't worry about Itachi dying. How is Sasuke supposed to take care of him when he already dies in the first chapters?


	3. Who are you?

It was 4 in the afternoon and Sasuke just came back from another tiresome school day half an hour ago. He hadn't even bothered to look at the receiver for any missed calls from the hospital, knowing how bad he would feel if there weren't any.

He was sitting in his living room doing his homework and learning for the next math exam.

School was annoying as hell right now and he was happy when he was finally back home. The lessons were boring and he didn't even know why he bothered going there anyways. The subjects taught were easy enough to learn at home.

Also he was tired of having an angry Naruto on his heels every minute of the day. All the blond idiot did these days was lecturing him about how wrong car races were, that he should have told him about Itachi, because he had the right to know if his 'friend' had any siblings and other things associated to the events 3 weeks ago.

Sasuke hadn't bothered telling about his older brother. Why should he? Itachi was barely home anyways. The only times he had visited him was as Sasuke was 13 and last year and both times it was only for some days. Now he was 17 and Itachi was 21. Meaning that since his parents death he had only seen his brother 3 times, including this time. Only Suigetsu, Juugo and Karin knew about his brother before.

Today Naruto had bothered him about his rare visits at the hospital again. He couldn't change anything about this situation if he visited him. He would only sit besides Itachis bed and feel the guilt eat at him till it got too much and he felt like throwing up. Every time he visited he wouldn't be able to sleep properly for the next 2 nights.

So in the last three weeks and four days he had only visited Itachi four times and only when Madara came along. He didn't dare to be alone in this room again. The last time he visited was four days ago on a Tuesday as Itachis artificial coma was stopped and he was supposed to wake up, but he didn't.

They had waited for hours, but Itachi didn't even stir.

Tsunade said it is nothing to worry about and that Itachi was out of the coma and only sleeping right now. But damn was he taking long.

The next day the nurses had sent them both home, promising to call if Itachi should show any signs of waking up.

Sasuke hadn't seen any reasons for going to the hospital and wait there alone if he could very well wait at home for the nurses or Tsunade to call.

Naruto was pretty pissed about him not going, but he could care less. He had other problems to worry about and no time to stay at the hospital all day.

The police had interrogated him several times now and he had a court trial in 7 weeks.

He swore that he hadn't started the race, but right now all evidences were against him. Even his defense lawyer advised him to make a confession, to get a more lenient sentence, but he refused to take all the blame for something he hadn't done. Besides, you're not allowed to lie in court so he wouldn't. End of the story. He would go into jail, but at least he didn't lie.

Itachi was the only one that could release him of the conviction, since he was the only other living witness. If he told the judge that Sasuke hadn't started the race they couldn't sent him into jail, even if Itachi was his brother. In case of doubt for the defendant.

He still would get punished because even if he hadn't started the race he still took part. He already lost his driver license for an unknown amount of time and had to take part in several advanced course, which he had to pay on his own, to get it back someday.

Also he already had been ordered to pay money to the wife of the dead driver and his insurance would only pay part of it. The rest of it he had to pay himself. His insurance also refused to pay for his car and only pay part of the money for the damaged train, because the accident was self-inflicted.

Since Madara refused to give him any money from the family account, as punishment for taking part in a street race again, he had to go find a job, but so far he hadn't had any luck.

The money on his own account wasn't enough to pay for everything. He was practically blank. At least he didn't need to worry about his apartment, food and everything else. Madara was paying for it all since years.

After half an hour Sasuke was finally done with his homework and decided to have a short break before learning for the exam.

As he leaned back and stretched his gaze fell on the laptop sitting neatly on the table besides him. It was Itachis.

The police had found it intact together with most of Itachis luggage, which had all been in the trunk of the car.

Itachis cell phone and his wallet had been found by one of the firemen on the ground next to the car. They probably slipped from the pocket in his jacket as the emergency physician had Itachis clothes cut open.

Now they were in the spare bedroom together with the luggage.

Even if he knew it was silly to try and spy into his brothers life he had tried to look through the cells contents, but the power had shut off before he could find the charging cable and now he couldn't find out the pin.

He also roamed through Itachis clothes, but besides from a picture of him and Itachi together as they were younger in his wallet there was nothing interesting. Why the hell did he even kept such a silly picture with him?

The only interesting thing now was Itachis Laptop, but Sasuke just couldn't figure out the password.

He had tried hundreds of times already. One time Madara caught him while trying and after lecturing him again he actually tried helping, but they didn't get any further.

He even had Shikamaru take a look at it and use various programs to figure it out, but it was no use and it only ended in another fight with the holy Samaritan Naruto again.

Knowing his brother the password was probably some complicated system of various letters and numbers without any meaning, which could only be found out with sheer luck.

Sasuke grabbed the laptop, set it on his knees and started it. After 15 minutes of trying his cell phone ringed.

It was Madara.

"Yes?"

"Sasuke, I just got a call from the hospital. It seems Itachi has woken this morning. They couldn't reach any of us, since you were at school and I have been working. But they said he was barely awake for a minute and he wasn't responsive yet. He's sleeping again now, but according to Tsunade he should wake again soon. I will be at your apartment in 20 minutes if that's ok."

"…"

"Sasuke?..."

Sasuke shook his head to get it clear again.

"That's ok. Till then, uncle."

He hung up and stared at the laptop before him.

Itachi had finally woken. He let out a shaky breath and shut off the laptop.

Sasuke made himself ready as fast as he could and waited for Madara by the door.

He was nervous. How fatal where Itachis injuries really and what would he say to him? That's if he could talk at all. Would he make accusations? Probably.

Yes, it was partly his fault that all this happened, but he didn't hurt him on purpose. Even if they hated each other, they were still brothers.

Through the window he could see Madaras car coming and he walked outside locking the door behind him.

They were silent the whole drive to the hospital and the walk to Itachis room. There was nothing to be said.

Tsunade greeted them just outside and they entered the room together.

Itachi was still pale and looked a little thinner than normal. Yesterday they had removed the lens tube from Itachis airways since he had been breathing without the machines help for some time now. His lungs and his heart seemed stable again.

"He should wake again soon, but of course it can take a while. If he shows any signs of waking up please call one of the nurses, there will always be some walking around the corridor."

Madara nodded and grabbed one of the chairs standing by the table and sat down besides the bed. Sasuke followed suit. Tsunade walked out again, she also had other patients to take care of.

And so they waited.

After some hours they were both getting restless. It was nearly 21 o' clock and Madara was walking around the room not able to sit still anymore.

Itachi had done no more than stirred a little in his sleep. Every time he did Madara would immediately call one of the nurses, but Itachi never woke.

It was nerve wrecking. One more hour of this and Sasuke would go home. He could see Itachi later when he was already awake. He didn't needed to sit around and wait for it to happen.

Out of nowhere Madara stopped short in his tracks and rushed towards Itachis bed.

Sasuke sighed.

"Uncle, he's just stirring in his sleep. I don't think he will wake up today. It's already late, let's go. We can come back tomorrow."

"No, I think this time he's really waking. Call a nurse."

Chewing on his lower lip Sasuke reluctantly stood up from his comfy chair and walked out the door, calling one of the nearby nurses. She made a sign to be there any minute and he turned back towards the room.

"Itachi?...Sasuke he's waking up, hurry!"

Suddenly feeling a rush of excitement Sasuke sprinted over to Itachis bed, standing besides his uncle.

They silently watched as Itachi continued to slightly move in his sleep as if something was discomforting him. His eyes fluttered and slowly opened a creak only to be painfully pressed close again.

"Sasuke the light!"

Sasuke understood and hurried of to dim the bright light so it wouldn't hurt his brothers eyes.

He rushed back and with a pounding heart watched as Itachi blinked several times, trying to get his eyes back to work properply. He looked tired and pretty confused as he looked around the room.

"Itachi? How are you feeling?"

Madara was touching his shoulder gently to get his attention.

"E-Ehm...I.." The next moment his body was shaken by a small coughing fit. Madara took a glass of water which stood besides the bed and helped him sit up and drink.

Sasuke could only watch silently. He was glad that Itachi was finally awake but he still feared what he would say to him. Till now he had only shortly looked at him.

"Th-ank y-you. Wh-ere a-am I?"

Itachis voice was hoarse and shaky and it seemed pretty hard for him to speak.

"You're in the Konoha-Hospital. Are you in any pain?"

Itachi slowly shook his head no and looked around the room again till his gaze fell on Sasuke.

Sasuke felt very uncomfortable and didn't dared breathing as Itachi mustered him.

Something wasn't right. Itachis look was so empty it made the hairs on Sasukes neck stand up.

Itachi stopped and moved his eyes to Madara only to muster him the same way he did with Sasuke.

"Itachi? Is everything alright?"

Madara looked at his nephew with worry.

Itachi frowned and slowly shook his head. His shaky hand came up to press against his forhead and it seemed as if he was in pain.

"Act-tually no. I'm s-sorry to ask t-that, b-but who are you?"

* * *

><p>AN: I'm sorry for the late update (as always). I had the end of this chapter in my head for months now, but I couldn't find a way to start it.<p>

Still hope you enjoyed it^^


	4. As if nothing ever happened

Sasuke was taken aback.

"W-What did you say?"

"I-I said, I don't k-know you…"

He looked at his brother in shock. How could he not remember him?

"Calm down Sasuke. Tsunade had mentioned something like this could happen."

Madara sat down at the edge of the bed and laid his hand on Itachis shoulder comforting.

"So you can't remember us. Do you remember what happened?"

Itachi shook his head. His eyes were downcast, bangs falling in front of his face and his hands were shaking slightly.

"Then do you remember who you are?"

Itachi took in a shaky breath, grabbing the blanket around him a little tighter. The realization that he indeed couldn't remember anything hit him. Slowly he shook his head.

"N-no" It came out as a quiet sob. He had his head held down and Sasuke could just slightly make out tears streaming down Itachis face.

Sasuke felt lost. He had never seen his brother cry before. Ok, waking up and having lost your memory was upsetting enough to make the strongest men cry, but this was Itachi we're talking about. He never cries! Not even as their parents had died.

"Sasuke, could you please go and see where that nurse is you called earlier. And tell someone to get Tsunade immediately."

Sasuke nodded and rushed towards the door, nearly bumping into Tsunade who stepped in just this moment.

She frowned at the expression on Sasukes face, but understood the moment she saw the shaking figure of Itachi holding his head in his hands.

Sasuke wanted to explain the situation to her but Tsunade cut him off with a motion of her hand and walked towards the bed instead.

A nurse came in after her and Sasuke followed her back towards Itachi, feeling slightly left out.

"Shizune give him the sedative and pain killer combo to calm him down."

The nurse nodded and pulled out a syringe and a small glass bottle she had brought with her. She stuck the syringe in the bottle and pulled a clear liquid into it.

Meanwhile Tsunade checked Itachis pulse and the drip. Itachi seemed to have forgotten about the shock of having lost his memory and eyed her and Shizune warily, not at all pleased with the thought of having that syringe pushed into him.

As Shizune stepped closer towards him he tried shuffling away and Madara had to hold him back at his shoulders, which was pretty easy since Itachi was still very weak right now.

"It's just to stop the pain and don't say you don't have any pain. I saw you holding your head and making a grimace some moments ago. Besides it won't even hurt."

Tsunade grabbed his hand with the IV stuck to it and held it for Shizune to push the liquid into.

Itachi looked anything but happy since it still hurt a little and Sasuke wished he could make him feel better somehow.

The sedatives showed effect pretty fast. Itachi stopped shaking and his expression got calmer. He lay down on his bed again with Madaras help.

Now Tsunade turned back towards Sasuke.

"You wanted to tell me what happened."

Sasuke started fidgeting. He still couldn't quite believe this was actually happening.

"Itachi seemed to have lost his memory. He can't remember us, himself or anything that had happened."

Madara had answered for him, still holding Itachis shoulder.

Sasuke let himself fall back into his chair and listened intently as Tsunade started questioning his brother.

Apparently Itachi knew all the basic things to live: How to eat, dress, turn on the TV, drive a car etc.. He knew about geography, biology, physics and math, he could read, write and speak in other languages and he even knew the newest newscast.

But he couldn't remember anyone he ever met, nor the places he had been. He couldn't remember his life.

At the end of their questioning session Itachi looked extremely tired and frustrated.

"You have amnesia" Itachi glared at Tsunade. He had figured that one out already.

"We will take a closer look at your brain again to make sure it isn't anything serious. If we can't find anything that says otherwise I'm sure you will be able to regain your memory back, but I can't say for sure how long it might take."

Itachi nodded and closed his eyes. He was tired.

"Try to stay awake a moment longer, would you?"

Tsunade walked to the end of the bed and pulled back the blanket. Itachi glared again. He felt exposed in front of all those strangers with nothing but the thin hospital gown on his body. They seemed to know him good and Itachi assumed they were from his family.

Itachis legs were as thin as the rest of his body and seemed to have lost a lot of muscles.

"What h-happened and how serious have I been injured?"

"I will answer some of your questions when you wake up the next time. And now tell me if you can feel this."

She pinched his right foot and Itachi grimaced.

"Y-Yes. Why can't you tell me now?"

Tsunade sighed and pinched his left food, making him grimace again.

"Because it's best for you to remember most things on your own. Either you just won't remember if you're simply told or you might remember too much at once and too fast. Remembering is an enormous stress for your body and brain and could overstrain you. In the best case you would simply faint and have a horrible headache for some days after, in the worst case you could get a heart attack, and that could of course kill you.

Can I continue now?"

Itachi, now even paler than before, nodded. Both Madara and Sasuke had also paled visibly. Itachi wasn't out of danger yet. Sasuke remember Tsunade telling them about Itachis weak heart and how they had problems reviving it. Itachi might need a cardiac stimulator for the rest of his life if it won't get better.

And it was all his fault.

"Good, you still have feeling in both legs. Now move your toes."

Itachi did so. Then he moved both his foots and then his legs with much difficult. He grimaced. They didn't moved much and he gave up. He felt completely exhausted and ready to faint.

"They feel so heavy and it h-hurts."

Tsunade slowly nodded in thought. "Where does it hurt?"

"My…lower back…"

Itachi was clearly fighting to stay awake now.

Tsunade pulled the blanket back down.

"All right. That was everything for now. I will check up on you again later."

Itachis eyes fell close and Tsunade beckoned for Madara and Sasuke to follow her out. Shizune stayed behind to change the drip.

Madara closed the door behind them and Tsunade sighed.

"I had feared that he might have amnesia. We will inform you about the examination results as soon as we have them."

"Is there a chance that he might never remember again?"

Tsunade slightly nodded.

"We haven't found anything with the first screening but of course we could have overseen something. So yes there is a slight chance that it might be worse than we originally thought, but I believe he will remember again."

Sasuke had to lean against the wall for support. The guilt about having caused all this was eating at him again. He pushed it away as Madara patted his shoulder supporting. He wouldn't let this shit rule the rest of his life. Yes he had done a mistake, but Itachi was alive.

"Both of you can support Itachi while he is remembering. Show him places he liked staying, things that could have an important meaning for him and pictures of him and his live. Let him met people he had known and talk with them. You may tell him who you are and you may answer some of his questions. But you shouldn't overdo it as you already heard. Let him remember on his own accord and don't push him. "

Madara nodded.

"Then wouldn't it be best to get him into familiarly surroundings as soon as possible?"

"He will be released as soon as all checkups are done and we deem him stable enough. But he will need someone to watch over him in case something happens. His other wounds have healed good so far, but not completely. That he can't move his legs properly yet isn't as bad as it seems. It is due to the injured nerve tract in his lower back were his spine got bruised. That he can already feel and move his legs somewhat is a good sign. He will have to go through training to build his nerves and his muscles up again. This and remembering everything can take some years, but with the right support and if he doesn't gives up he will be able to walk again as if nothing ever happened."

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><p>AN: Yay, I'm back. Sorry for the late update. I will try to keep it more recent now. Hope you liked the chapter.<p> 


	5. Work Out

Two weeks later Itachi was releases from the hospital, much to Sasukes displeasure.

Don't get him wrong, he was glad that his brother health was stable enough now.

The problem was that he couldn't live on his own yet and needed help for many, in normal live, trivial things. Normally there are people specialized in taking care of such people. Not in this case though.

That task had been burdened onto Sasuke. His dear uncle had decided this to be the best way, since he neither had the time to take care of Itachi himself nor the will to pay for someone to do it. He actually told Sasuke to go pay someone for the task himself. As if he had the money to do so. So in short, this was one way of punishing him for the events that happened.

For the next week he was going to play housewife for his brother. Cook for him, wash for him, make sure he takes his medications, accompany him for various check ups and muscle training, help him around the house and train with him.

Because of his still weak legs and the damage done do his spine Itachi couldn't walk and has to use a wheelchair.

Having Itachi living with him also meant he wouldn't have to go to school, which he really didn't mind. Some classmate would bring his homework and other things. But it also meant no meeting friends, no partys, no one visiting for too long at least and no chance to work and gain some money for the payments he still had to do.

He wasn't very eager to be stuck up with his amnesiac brother and his annoying questions.

So as Madara was driving them home, he was looking out the window with a soure look on his face, ignoring his uncle and brother.

Itachi himself, who was sitting in the back, wasn't too sure if Madara was right with his decision of having him stay with his little brother.

He had noticed very soon that Sasuke seemed to dislike him, even if he tried to hide it very hard. Due to his guilty looks every time he came to the hospital while his wound where rebound or something like that, he guessed that it was his little brother fault that he was in this state, at least partly. He had only been told that he was in a car accident, nothing more. His brother had actually left the room hurriedly during that time. It couldn't be more obvious.

Still he didn't felt like he could be angry at him. Instead he felt rather attached to his little brother, even if he can't remember him at all. The way he stared out the window right now pouting, it was rather cute.

_Silly_

Itachi shook his head in wonder. He was burning to know why his little brother could hate him so much while he on the opposite seemed to love him even more. Unconsciously he had done the mistake of asking Sasuke for their parents. He noticed his mistake the moment Sasukes face darkened in anger. He had jumped out of the chair, told Itachi that he had no right of even knowing their names and gone he was. Madara had stammered some apologies, but Itachi just waved them of saying that he should have known not to ask something like that. Madara assured him that of course he couldn't have known and wanted to tell him about his parents, but Itachi told him not to. He would get to know in time. It was obvious now, that whatever made his brother hate him like that had something to do with their parents. Which were either dead, lost or didn't care for them, since they never came to visit.

Which of those was right he didn't felt ready to know. Sasukes words had hit him harder than he imagined. His heart was racing and he actually had problems holding back tears. He wondered then if he always had had such problems holding in his emotions.

He definitely didn't want to be a burden to his little brother. He even had discussed with Madara, that he would pay for his care taking of his own accounts, which he seemed to be quite big. But the man simply refused him. Since he had been given custody of him because of his mental state he couldn't do much about it. But he tried.

Well, he would just have to do as many things as possible on his own. Cooking noodles and operating a washing machine shouldn't be too hard. And if he tried hard enough he was able to get in and out of that damned wheelchair on his own.

Madara, who was driving the car, was having his own set of troublesome thoughts. Setting Sasuke up to take care of his brother probably wasn't the best solution. But if Itachi was to remember anything he needed to have his family around him as much as possible. He didn't have enough free time for that and Sasuke would do it if not forced to. So force him he did, but if it really was the best for Itachis health he couldn't say. Perhaps he should pay his secretary extra for her take a look the situation for at least once a day. She could make dinner for the boys. Sasuke was a good enough cook if he wanted to be, but Itachi needed to be careful with what he eat, being in rehab.

He already started getting a headache from simply thinking of the weeks to come.

But it had to be like this. It is the perfect chance for Sasuke to get over his grudge against his brother and make up with him. Well, perhaps setting an amnesiac, emotional Itachi with a rather weak heart, together with an easily angered Sasuke who can't think clear during those times, both as stubborn as a herd of mules together 24/7 for the next weeks really wasn't the best option. He definitely should get them some sort of part time babysitter.

At least Itachi didn't seem to damaged any of his brain parts which are responsible for his calculative thinking. After the incident where he asked about their parents he stopped asking any questions that might upset Sasuke. Perhaps he was too much thought into this and everything was going to work out just fine.

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><p>And here too: finally an update.<p>

And again I'm so sorry for making everyone reading this wait so long. I hope I can manage to update more regulary now.


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